Multimedia Campaign: Siren

Assignment: “Women Only Bar- Regardless of where you are from you've heard of men's bars. They're either kinda sleazy, no-frills, neighborhood bars, or they are sports bars with lots of neon signs, TVs filled with sports, baskets of peanuts, sticky floors or they are very masculine looking bars with dark woods, leather seats, and lots of hard whiskey.

Well this well-funded client is going to launch a chain of world-wide, women's bars. They want to know from us what the tone should be? Girly-girl? Serious? All pink and white? What does it look like? What's the tone of the place, the drink list, what will be appropriate bar food. Only men that are allowed in must be accompanied by a female who vouches for him. If you select this you must also do concept boards for the interior of the place.”

My concept: Siren is a 1920s//Great Gatsby themed women’s “speakeasy” or bar. As awesome and cool as all pink bars are, I’ve been to enough pink bars/restaurants/clubs to know that there are plenty out there and wanted to go with something different. According to History.com “Flappers of the 1920s were young women known for their energetic freedom, embracing a lifestyle viewed by many at the time as outrageous, immoral or downright dangerous. Now considered the first generation of independent American women, flappers pushed barriers in economic, political and sexual freedom for women.”

The name “Siren”: Well the myth is that Siren’s were beautiful, dangerous, female creatures (sounds kinda familiar), that lured nearby sailors with enchanting music and singing voices to shipwreck. While we aren’t wrecking any ships, I wanted a name that represent just what I felt the female is: Beautiful, strong, and dangerous, no man needed. Also the most memorable clubs/restaurants/bars for me personally all started with the letter “S” (Sketch, Scandal)

The tagline: “A Mystery to Mankind” was inspired by the fact that women are a mystery to man, and this is a women’s bar.

Theme: Great Gatsby // 1920s Speakeasy. I wanted an interior that was rich, vibrant, and felt like a luxurious version of a speakeasy, complete with velvet seating, chandeliers, and a Photo Booth either in the bathroom, (since girls love taking pictures in bathrooms anyways).

Concept board for the interior

I also wanted to include a neon sign of a lightbulb at the entrance of each Siren, as well as neon signs with sayings from “The Great Gatsby” in the bar. While the Great Gatsby was by no means a feminist book, I wanted to use quotes from it because the book is easily recognizable, and is set in the period of the 1920s. The 1920 was the year that women earned the right to vote, a huge step in the fight toward equality, and because of that right women started changing their attitudes. They started drinking alcohol, smoking and dancing a new type of dance called “Swing.” which was seen as wild and sexual, it was the age of “The New Woman” and that woman is celebrated at Siren.

I found an invitation that I thought fit the theme of Siren, and filled it out accordingly for the opening night.

Video/Commercial Idea:

Guerilla Advertisement: Set up an interactive vanity somewhere in New York - Times Square/Washington Square Park/ in or around the corner from Bergdorf Goodman. I want to stick with the themes already set for Siren, and set up a vanity that will take pictures or make a video. They can take fun pictures with the 1920s flapper themed props provided and get instant pictures or a video sent to them via email as well as recieve a physical print if they choose to take pictures.

For the magazine ads I decided to make them full on spreads. I sourced images from a Vogue shoot that conveyed the type of images I would want Siren to use. On the left would be the image, and then on the right would be plain white with the copy.

Billboards:

My experiential ad: Dress to Kill - A Murder Mystery Party… A little party never killed nobody… until it did…